Leaving Ashton out was 'easy' - Jones

Omnisports

May 22, 2016 9:18 AM

Chris Ashton has been in superb try-scoring form for Saracens but he did not make Eddie Jones' latest England squad

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Eddie Jones says he had no troubles leaving Chris Ashton out of his England squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.

The Aussie-born England coach said he did not rate Ashston as one of England's top-three wingers, despite the 29-year-old's scoring record of 19 tries and 95 points in 39 caps for his country and his impressive form for European Cup winners Saracens.

Jones said the winger had to work on areas of his game when his side were not in possession.

Harlequins' Marland Yarde was the big winner from Ashton's omission, with the 24-year-old in line to add to his seven caps for England.

"It wasn't a tough call to make, it was an easy call to make. Ashton has done well, but there are parts of his game that he needs to work on," Jones said.

"We feel Marland is a player with a lot of growth in him and that's important because we're a young team that is building towards the 2019 World Cup. We want players who are going to grow.

"Chris has scored a lot of tries, but there's a part of the game where you don't have the ball. I've had a chat to Chris about my decision and in my eyes he's not in the top three wings in England."

England are set to take on Australia across three Tests, starting on June 11 in Brisbane, before heading to Melbourne and finishing in Sydney on June 25.

Omnisports

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